I am the expert of my own body! (video)

by

Yesterday I was glued to twitter, facebook, texts, phone & email running vicariously with our racing Tribe members.

(Yep. I totally did a link love extravaganza and deleted it. I was pretty damn confident even in my thoroughness I missed *someone*)

I was BEYOND inspired by all of you & amazed at the health issues so many of you overcame (guest post? you know who you are!) to finish your races.

So many of you (see parenthetical above) would not be classified as mainstream ‘healthy’ & yet kicked ass & took names! proved the classification WRONG yet *again* yesterday.

Which brings me to my question for YOU:

How do you define HEALTH?

Is it merely the absence of disease or, as it is for me, is it so much more?

(If youre checking in via a reader there is a video below. It is sixty seconds long. I achieved brevity. Please to thank me in the comments.  Whether youre checking in by reader or *not* please to mock me in the comments for introducing myself at the start. thank you.)

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. I recently found out I have a disease (MS). For me, health is not about the absence of disease, but about the fulfilment of wellbeing, no matter what medically labelled conditions we’re carrying. Some days, I can run for 40 minutes, others I can’t lift my breakfast cereal spoon to my mouth without poking myself in the eye. The parameters of health feel different to me on each of these days, but the core of it is about loving and nurturing myself, doing what I can to feel proud of my own abilities, and forgiving my body when it’s not entirely up to the task!

  2. LOL at the brevity.

    For me health is loving my body enough to let it find its natural stasis (is that the right word? set point.).

  3. OK I got stuck when you said your definition has changed over the past 20 years.
    I am a new reader and I AM 20!! LOL

  4. I like your definition as I think I turn to too many health care practitioners and let them set my defition of health.

    Good food for thought, MizFit.

  5. A state of well being where what I am eating and doing physically is not punishing but loving.

    Health.

  6. Hi Carla from MizFitOnline.com!!! *waving* 😛

    I’ve had a super-major-paradigm shift about the health definition over the past couple of years.

    I’ve basically gone from a complete disregard for my health in general, to a definition similar to yours. Basically health for me is being able to do what I want when I want. Not having to ask “I wonder if I’m fit enough” before going out adventuring. I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way!

  8. Interesting question, Carla. I would have defined it the same, once upon the time, the absence of disease. Somewhere in the past decade or so I changed that paradigm to include the being fit and strong component. I see some of the older women I know and there are huge differences in the quality of their life, based on how they have taken care of themselves and their bodies. I admit that the piece that I still am missing is anything related to the spiritual side.

  9. i think sometimes I separate the two–health being the absence of disease, and fitness being the way i want to feel–strong, energetic, vital. I think the thing about health, or the lack of it, is that some of the worst diseases have little to do with how good I feel–like diabetes and high blood pressure. But I agree. I am in charge, and I get to define it for my body (BMI charts be damned LOL!)

  11. Carla, I think Jo started making the point I wanted to make in all this… and at the start you were using the word “healthy”… then ended with the term “optimal health” For those of us with chronic illness, they’re two different things.

    If “HEALTHY” is defined as “The energy , the vitality to live my life the way I want to …the way that I choose to.” then most of us will NEVER be healthy, because we tend to have goals beyond what we are physically capable of (especially those of us with chronic illness) Even “normal, healthy” individuals may not have the energy to live life in the way they choose to. I have a friend who is very athletic, well educated, professional male, also in his 50s, talking about how he’s “slowing down”.

    I do think it’s important to recognize the mind/body connection in health, but I’m afraid that your definition will probably morph again in a decade.

    I also think that we need to recognize the importance of health care professionals and not underplay them. We have a tendency to say we know what’s best for our bodies, but how many of us overeat? How many diabetics sneak sugar? How many people with clogged arteries live in denial and scarf down fried foods?

    For some people, the “I know my own body” thing simply isn’t true. They use it as an excuse to live in denial of other health issues.

    While you’re very much in tune with your body, it takes a lot of work (and that mind/body connection) to get to that point. But there is a difference between awareness and diagnosis, and in individuals with less than optimal health, they need to rely fairly heavily on the knowledge and science of medicine their doctors can provide.

    I think it’s hard to define “healthy”… because it is so different for so many people. It’s a word I know I banter about far too much (even on my t-shirts) but, like I think you may be doing, constantly use it to mean “optimal health” for any given individual.

    • THANK YOU KATE & JO. This is precisely the dialog Id hoped for. And Kate? Im reading. Didnt comment as I feared Id come across as well….suzie sunshine 🙂

  12. Five months ago I would have said health is about pushing myself to its limits and despite my knee pain.

    Today, I’m going with absence of disease. Ever since I was diagnosed with a rare disease I’ve realized the definition doesn’t have to be so strict. Health is doing normal functions, like standing, walking and being able to take care of yourself.

  13. Serious stuff for a Monday morning MizFit.
    I am fine but a loved one is not and I wonder if she will ever see HEALTH again.

  14. Such an interesting question! I do think I define health differently now than younger years. I guess because I am so aware of all the different things going on in my body beyond just a cold or no cold, a disease or no disease. I do think it encompasses so much more than just the doctor stuff… and for me, especially with age & feeling how it changes my body & what I can do & not do, being able to take care of myself & still “do” to the best possible as time flies by….

  15. Healthy for me is an ever changing definition.

    Today it means being strong and building the muscles I need to do the things I want to do and feel good about myself. And meeting my nutritional goals. If I lose weight in the process, good. If not? I was never this strong and fit when I was “skinny”.

    Oh, and thanks. 😉

  16. Interesting question. I know because I am blessed with health my definition is a simplictic one right now.

    I am always highly aware that it may change which is why I strive for health now instead of waiting.

    Great post.

  18. Yes…what you said 🙂

    It’s only been in the past year that I’ve been able to trust my own body…to advocate for myself as it concerns my health. Now I consult various sources and experts and take what makes sense to me and leave the rest. A great example of this is the hormone specialist I’ve been seeing, who wanted to put me on a 900-calorie-a-day diet! I mean, he’s helped me greatly with hormone imbalance, and he’s an expert on how imbalances affect things like cholesterol/thyroid/adrenal function, but I drew the line with the diet because what I saw was a doctor who was looking to pad his bottom line by selling a diet (prepackaged foods). I was thrown for a loop at first…I thought, how can I trust this guy? But who I had to trust was ME…what made sense to me??

    And that kind of confidence in myself, to trust myself, is amazing and empowering.

  20. I was really sick in my early 30s – specialists, hospitals, tests, procedures…back then I would most definitely have said that the definition of health was feeling normal – simply waking up without pain and being able to go about my day in an unremarkable way. Now, I look at health as more of a whole-body, what can I do to make myself feel good, without the need for doctors or medicine.

    Of course that’s easy to say as I’m currently in the best shape of my adult life, and *knock wood* will hopefully stay like this! 🙂

  22. Health for me is so much more than the absence of disease or even just feeling good. It encompasses body, mind, and spirit. If I’m eating healthy, exercising, and my body feels great but there is something off mentally or spiritually, I know I need to make peace with some issue or other.

  24. I’ve never defined health as an absence of disease, simply because I’ve never been entirely healthy according to that definition. I’ve had thebugbear on my back – asthma – since I was a kid, and for years that defined me. Inability defined me.

    Now, I define health as ability to overcome bugbears and to be happy in body, mind and soul. My current situation (having no work at all) is not healthy for me and I’m working on changing that to be healthy again.

  25. So true, I’ve been in the fitness world my whole life and you hit the nail right on the head when you said that it’s about knowing yourself. I think this also applies to many other aspects of your life. Great little video.

  27. Great video!! I totally agree my views of what is healthy has changed a lot – even from one year ago I have changed on my ways of thinking. But I am with you 100% that it is up to myself to know what works and what does not!! We can listen and learn from others but I am the only one that REALLY knows my body and that I need to give it what it needs 🙂 to live my life to the fullest!! HUGS

    ~Lori

  29. I so Love you Carla, always bringing reality to the world of “fitness”!
    Health for me these days is being the best I can be at any given moment and sometime best means “good enough”. I have had this “health” idea brought to my attention when a “friend” said she thought I winced when I stated to her I was a nutritionist when we first met. I said winced why would I have winced (I love what I do). She said I must have winced because of my weight!
    That hit a nerve (I was shocked as i dont recall ever feeling my weight was a problem of any kind …I believe in Health At Every Size and I am not as Body Image Distorted.
    Let me say this about that…weight is one, count my finger, ONE aspect of: who we are, where we are metabolically at any given moment and our health. ONE.
    Am I weighing in higher now than in my 20s, 30s, 40,or early 50s YES! The question to bear in mind is where is my overall health and wellness?
    This would be a wonderful thing to keep in mind while we navigate the world…a woman’s(or man’s) weight does not determine her(or his) health or wellness (believe me….I work with women suffering with eating disorders who look incredible on the outside and suffer day in and day out mentally, physically and spiritually in an attempt to keep that look/mindset).
    And the reverse is also true, a rounder heavier person is not automatically a couch potato with a heart attack waiting to happen.
    So what is health for me these days…It’s about what I am doing for my body, my self care and spiritual path that I call health. No wincing required.

  30. What a great question! I’ve spent so many years in pursuit of health I’ve always assumed I’d know it when I found it. I think that that is not true. I need to stop taking for granted what I have and really focus on the blessing that is my health:)

  31. My friend Nicole (a holistic nutritionist) and I were discussing this issue just the other evening – every one of us knows our bodies the best and we have to listen to our bodies in order to treat them well.

  32. Love this. I agree that we are the experts of our own bodies and we need to embrace that and for me (and I think many) start paying attention to what that body is telling us! I find myself constantly wishing you had a little tweet this button on your posts…of course I would probably over use it.

  33. I would disagree when saying that health is the absense of disease. I’m “healthier” now than I was 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with a thyroid disease.
    I would say health is striving to be the best you that you can be at that moment. Feeling your optimal self.

  34. Carla, great question (enjoyed your video too)! I define health now as much as a mental attitude as I do physical wellness. To trust me to take care of myself as best possible and for my body, respected through cleaner eating and regular exercise, to feel capable and vibrant.

  35. I was so happy to see this in my reader! I am a medical anthropology student and this is EXACTLY what we are trying to focus on – getting away from focusing on the individual/symptoms/pathogen and insstead looking at communities and whole bodies (as well as issues of race class and gender, but that’s way too much for one comment.
    This is something that comes up for me a lot as I read healthy living blogs – they are in a way “health” narratives as opposed to the “illness” narratives that anthropologists tend to study.
    Thank you, and I apologize for the uber – dork comment. I love your blog.

Trackbacks

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This